In the process of preparing food by pan frying, it is typically necessary to flip or turn the frying food products to ensure even cooking on both (or all) sides. Typically, a slotted or perforated spatula or "turner" is used to provide such a flipping action. Such spatulas or turners are available in a wide variety of different configurations.
For example, one type of commonly-available turner includes a plastic handle connected by an elongated stainless steel rod to a broad, roughly rectangular, slotted blade portion. The blade portion comprises a substantially planar, thin rectangular sheet of stainless steel, for example. The blade portion includes plural, parallel elongated slots which extend for most of the length of the blade portion and are oriented in the direction of the handle. These slots permit cooking oil or other cooking liquid adhering to the food products to drain back into the pan as the cook removes the food products from the pan. Similarly configured "turners" may be molded from one-piece high temperature plastic, and may include similar multiple elongated slots oriented in the direction to the handle.
Another type of spatula-like kitchen utensil may provide, instead of elongated slots, a plurality of circular holes of varying sizes. These holes similarly have the function of permitting oil or other liquids to drain from food products as the cook suspends the utensil (and the food products resting thereon) above the pan.
An important feature of these types of spatula and turner utensils is that the blade has a relatively sharp and thin "leading edge", (and the blade forms an appropriate angle with respect to the handle) such that it is relatively easy for the cook to push the blade beneath a food product resting on the bottom of a shallow pan (e.g., a frying pan). In use, the cook places the blade leading edge beneath an edge of a food product, and pushes the blade beneath the food product (at the same time, the cook may naturally move the handle in a slight downward direction such that the blade becomes more or less parallel with the bottom of the pan). Because of the relative flatness of the blade, the blade can be pushed beneath the food product without damaging the food product outer surface.
The cook then lifts the utensil away from the pan (such that the blade and the food product resting thereon is suspended above the pan). Liquid (e.g., cooking oil) adhering to the outer surface of the food product drains back into the pan through the slots or perforations in the blade. The cook may "flip" the food product back into the pan (to place an uncooked surface of the food product into contact with the bottom of the pan, for example), or may remove the food product from the pan.
As mentioned above, such spatulas or turners are capable of draining oil or other liquids from food products. However, the slots or holes provided in the blades of such utensils are relatively large, and therefore pass food particles suspended in the cooking liquid in addition to the cooking liquid. Thus, such utensils cannot be used to strain or filter fine food particles from the cooking liquid.
So-called "pot drainers" are also known. One exemplary prior art pot drainer comprises a planar sheet of wood having an elongated handle portion and a wider blade portion (with the shape of the wooden sheet being shaped like the paddle portion of ping-pong paddle if such ping-pong paddle were cut lengthwise down its center in the handle direction). The wider blade portion has regularly-spaced holes drilled therethrough to permit liquid to drain. Such "pot drainers" are useful for draining foods (e.g., boiled vegetables) by retaining the foods while permitting the water or other cooking medium to drain off back into the pot. However, such "pot drainers" cannot be used for straining the cooking medium because of its configuration and/or the relatively large size of the holes used.
A type of kitchen utensil which may be used for draining food products and also for filtering or straining cooking liquid is called a "skimmer." Such skimmers come in a variety of different configurations. One type of prior art skimmer is illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 5A. This exemplary prior art skimmer includes an elongated handle member 10 attached at an end 12 (e.g., by a spot weld) to a circular skimming member 14. Skimming member 14 has a circular-shape outer peripheral ring 16 providing an inwardly curved upper surface 18 (see FIG. 5A). Ring 16 defines a circular hole 20 at the center thereof, and suspends a fine stainless steel screen or mesh 22 across the circular hole. FIG. 5A shows a detailed cross-section of how ring member 16 is bent over to seal and grasp the edge of screen 22. Screen 22 thus defines most of the upper surface area provided by skimmer member 14. Screen 22 has an overall concave shape (as can be seen in FIG. 5), and provides holes or perforations of a relatively small size. Screen 22 traps fine food particles in the concavity within the screen, but permits liquid to freely drain through the screen. This type of skimmer may be used to drain food products (e.g., boiled vegetables). Some cooks may possibly also use this type of skimmer (e.g., because of its fine mesh) to filter or strain cooking liquids (e.g., to remove food particles from the oil of a deep fat fryer).
Another known skimmer configuration provides a circularly-shaped skimmer member, but instead of screen 22, there is provided a one-piece stainless steel sheet the entirety of which has been stamped into a concave shape. Multiple, evenly-spaced holes or perforations are punched through the sheet. Still another style of skimmer may be more spoon-like in configuration--with the skimmer member meeting the handle at an obtuse angle (e.g., in a manner somewhat similar to a ladle).
While such skimmers and "pot drainers" are quite useful for draining food products and/or removing food particles from cooking liquids, it is not practical to use them to flip or turn food products in a shallow pan. Many such skimmers are intended to be used with relatively large (e.g., 4 quart and larger) pans, and are simply too large to be used with most fry pans. Moreover, such skimmers do not provide a thin, flat leading edge that can easily be pushed beneath food products in a shallow pan. Because of the curved outer peripheral edges of such skimmers, any attempt to use the skimmer as a spatula would result in damage to the outer surface of the cooked food products.
The following additional prior art may be relevant:
Great Britain 518,035; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 46,416; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 902,954; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,587,734; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 827,101; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,904,009; and PA1 Fox Run Craftsmen, 1989 Catalog pages 1-3 and 52.
British Patent No. 518,035 discloses a "combined egg or fish slice, strainer and spoon" kitchen utensil intended "for removing an egg or any article of food such as a piece of fish from the frying pan" and "adapted also to serve as a strainer to allow water, fat or other liquid in which the article was cooked, to drain away." While the British disclosure uses the term "straining", it is apparent from the Figures and the disclosure as a whole that the device is intended and useful for draining, not straining. The disclosure discusses draining (e.g., "to allow water, fat or other liquid in which the article was cooked, to drain away") but does not suggest straining of the cooking liquid to trap small food particles while permitting the cooking liquid to pass. The disclosed device includes a spoon formed with an extending flat blade with the cup of the spoon being perforated or made of wire gauze so as to serve as a drainer. The holes 4 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-2 of the reference are relatively large--permitting rapid draining of cooking liquids from food (e.g., fish or egg) resting within the cup of the spoon. However, such a configuration with these relatively large holes is incapable of straining or filtering the cooking liquid so as to trap small food particles while permitting the cooking liquid to pass. Even assuming that the size of the mesh of the embodiment shown in the FIGS. 3-4 were suitable for straining, the relatively large degree of concavity of the cupped portion of the FIG. 3 embodiment would prevent the utensil from effectively being used as either a turner/flipper or as a cooking liquid strainer.
Thus, none of the prior art kitchen utensils discussed above are particularly well adapted (or useful) for the dual uses of: (a) turning or flipping pan-frying food products; and (b) filtering or straining the cooking liquid in which such food products are being cooked.
One of the problems with pan frying is that carbonized food particles tend to build up at the bottom of the pan. For example, when frying breaded foods (e.g., eggplant, chicken, veal, etc.) in hot oil in an open shallow fry pan, some of the breading tends to fall off of the food products as cooking progresses. This breading builds up in the bottom of the pan (close to the heat).
When frying a large volume of individual pieces (i.e., more than a single pan full), it is desirable to reuse the hot oil (i.e., by simply removing fully cooked food products from the pan and replacing them with raw food products to be cooked). After one or more pan-fulls of food products have been cooked, however, the built-up breading particles at the bottom of the pan have been heated so long that they carbonize. The cooking food products in the pan rest on (and are thus in direct contact with) such carbonized food particles, such that the carbonized particles adversely affect the flavor (and possibly even the cooking time) of the food products.
As mentioned above, the cook typically uses a spatula or other substantially flat or planar utensil to periodically flip or turn the frying food products. Although such conventional spatulas or turners can possibly be used to scrape off some of the food particles built up in the bottom of the pan, a large number of particles will flow through the slots or holes in the blade and end up back in the pan.
The present invention, in contrast, provides a kitchen utensil which can be used to flip food products cooking in a frying pan; and to also to strain food particles from a cooking liquid.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a cooking utensil is provided having an elongated handle member. A food contacting member is fixed to an end of the handle. This food contacting member defines a concave straining surface and at least one adjacent, substantially planar food supporting surface. The food supporting surface preferably has a thin leading edge that is adapted to be pushed beneath food products.
In accordance with a further aspect of this invention, the food contacting member defines a center and at least a leading edge. A substantially planar surface is defined adjacent to the edge. The food contacting member further defines a straining surface providing a concave portion at or near the center of the food contacting member. This straining surface has holes or perforations therethrough, these holes or perforations being of a size such that, in use, liquid can pass through the holes or perforations but food particles become trapped in the straining surface concave portion so as to strain the cooking liquid.
In one embodiment provided by the present invention, the straining surface is defined by a screen member bonded or otherwise affixed to another member (e.g., a flat sheet) which defines the planar surface. In a further embodiment, the straining surface comprises a pressed or stamped portion of a planar sheet defining the planar surface, and holes or perforations are punched into the pressed or stamped portion so as to define a concave trap area for trapping food particles and the like.